5 tricks you'll love for better slow cooking

Using the slow cooker is a favourite among many, as it offers a way to cook delicious meals without much hands-on work from your end. Simply prepare the ingredients, drop them into the pot; a few hours later you can enjoy a great meal. With these five tricks for better slow cooking, creating fantastic meals will be better than ever.

• When cooking in your slow cooker, you first need to ensure you're using the right sized device.
• One of the major reasons for disappointing dishes is using incorrectly sized cooking instruments.
• These cookers are available in a variety of sizes, from 1 quart to 8 1/2 quarts.
• While some people prefer different sizes, most recipes work best in cookers that are 5-6 quarts.

• Another mistake made while slow cooking is opening the lid to peak at the meal.
• While it can be tempting to open the lid, there's a reason why it's clear. Your slow cooker takes a while to build up the proper temperature inside. When you take the lid off you let all the heat escape.
• Avoid opening it up until 35-40 minutes before you've finished cooking.

• While extra flavouring isn't universally important, you may be like a lot of people and like to maximize the flavour of your slow cooker dishes.
• To maximize any dish, fry it up in a skillet with your seasoning prior to adding it to the crock pot. It'll taste a lot better than absorbing flavour from the slow cooker alone.

• The right temperature inside of your slow cooker not only helps your meals turnout better but also prevents sickness from under-cooking.
• According to experts, temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees F are within the danger zone, as bacteria can thrive at this level.
• While food is going to be at the temperature for a short period of time, you want to limit the amount of time spent at that level.
• Resist adding frozen food.
• As a rule, only add ingredients at or above room temperature.

• There are two tricks to timing your slow cooker meals perfectly: prepare the night before and add ingredients to the pot first thing in the morning.
• The night before you'll want to ensure all ingredients are thawed to room temperature.
• Cut them into the right portions before storing them in containers for the morning.
• Once morning arrives, simply add the ingredients to the slow cooker. This will ensure you're allowing the perfect amount of time for cooking.

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